Preliminary Study On Parasites In Loggerhead Turtles (Caretta Caretta) From The Southern Tunisian Waters | Biomedgrid

Objective: The occurrence of parasites has been used not only to assess the health status of their hosts, but also as an important tool to understand aspects of the biology of the host, namely their migratory behaviour, distribution and feeding ecology. Material and Methods: The presence of parasitic agents onthe loggerhead sea turtle in the Gulf of Gabes (South of Tunisia) was performed on five stranded and two accidentally caught animals between 2005 and 2010. Results: Three helminthic species were found in the intestine (one digenean trematode and two nematodes) and two species of ectoparasites (one herpacticoid copepod and one annelid) were recorded in different locations of the body. Conclusions: The parasitological findings here described are consistent with previous reports from loggerheads in the Mediterranean. Further studies appear necessary to outline the parasitic fauna of the Loggerhead turtles from the gulf of Gabes as an important foraging and wintering area in the Mediterranean Sea